46% of EU’s electricity came from renewables in Q1 2026
In the first quarter of 2026, 45.5% of the electricity generated in the EU came from renewable energy sources. This represents an increase from the same quarter of 2025, when the share was 42.7%.
Wind was the primary source of renewable electricity in the EU, accounting for 44.9% of the total renewable electricity, against 42.3% in the first quarter of 2025. Hydro power came in second with 28.0%, followed by solar with 17.3%. The remaining renewable electricity came from combustible renewable fuels (9.4%) and geothermal and other energy sources (0.4%).
Source dataset: nrg_cb_pem
Denmark, Portugal and Lithuania take the lead
Among EU countries, the highest shares of electricity from renewable sources were generated in Denmark (90.0%, mostly wind), Portugal (82.9%, mostly hydro) and Lithuania (75.7%, mostly wind).
In contrast, the lowest shares were recorded in Czechia (12.7%), Malta (13.0%) and Slovakia (17.2%).
Source dataset: nrg_cb_pem
For more information
- Statistics Explained article on renewable energy
- Thematic section on energy
- Database on energy
- Interactive energy visualisations
- Energy in Europe – 2026 edition
Methodological notes
- The share of renewables in net electricity production should not be mistaken for the share of renewables in gross electricity consumption, which is the main indicator used to monitor the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The methodologies used to calculate each of them differ. The former (used in this article) is only based on electricity generation, while the latter follows the methodology of the RED and divides electricity generation by electricity consumption, which can lead to shares higher than 100%. In addition, the share according to the RED requires that hydro and wind power are averaged over several years to smooth out the effects of meteorological variation (‘normalised’), and considers electricity from renewable combustible fuels (solid, liquid and gaseous biofuels) as renewable only when these biofuels comply with the sustainability criteria. More details on these differences can be found in the Energy balance guide and in the SHARES Manual.
- Hydro power excludes pure pumping in the numerator and the denominator.
- Solar includes solar photovoltaics and solar thermal electricity generation.
- Due to rounding, the shares of renewable energy sources might not add up to 100%.
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